It’s weird to think I haven’t posted in two weeks…and that it’s been two weeks since I’ve done my nails! I’m actually still wearing the polish I had on when I left New York, OPI Alcatraz…Rocks (San Francisco, Fall 2013), a textured slate blue with royal purple and chartreuse glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well; I got full coverage in two coats. This is definitely my favorite Liquid Sand polish so far! The finish has that night sky look to it, with the multicolored glitter standing out from the deep blue base. It’s really glittery, and sparkles beautifully in the light, When I first put this on, I felt like I was seeing a different color every time I looked at my nails. Sometimes it seemed blue, other times a deep amethyst, other times a gunmetal/black. But in every way, shape, and form, it’s absolutely gorgeous. I love it so much that I didn’t mind also wearing it on my toes. 🙂

Since I’ve had this polish on for more than just a couple of days, I can really comment on the wear. I had heard that Liquid Sands wear tough, and now I really believe it. I’ve been really rough on my hands these past two weeks, with packing and unpacking and repacking my suitcase. Of course I had some tipwear, but not once did this polish chip along the tips of my nails. Oddly, when I did get chips, they were along the cuticle. Anyway, what I love about the Liquid Sand finish is that since it doesn’t require topcoat, doing touchups is so easy and practically seamless. Every few days I would fill in any chips and cover up tipwear, and my mani would look good again. The only thing that would give away the fact that it wasn’t a fresh mani was my nail growth. Also, over time, the grittiness of the Liquid Sand finish wears away, like how the elements eventually smooth the surface of a stone. My toes fared much better; even after two weeks I don’t even have any tipwear, let alone chips! The only polishes I brought with me to Paris were Liquid Sands (all have been swatched here already). I get really annoyed by chips, so i figured they would be great to have since I can’t do my nails as often anymore. I’m glad to see at least one of them stood up to expectations; hopefully I’ll be able to say the same for the rest!

I’ve been wearing a lot of glowy polishes lately. This one isn’t a neon, but is still glowy in its own way. OPI Innie Minnie Mightie Bow (Couture de Minnie) is a bold, bright cherry red with red shimmer:

Picture taken in weak sunlight. This applied very well, and went on smoothly in two coats. I normally associate this type of red polish with the holiday season, but I love wearing reds all year round. This shade of cherry red is one I’d definitely expect to see in a Minnie Mouse themed collection. This is the type of shimmer that has an almost metallic-like finish. It has very slight brushstrokes, but the shimmer covers them up; as long as you paint in straight strokes, they shouldn’t be obvious. The shimmer may be delicate, but it’s definitely noticeable, and contributes to the polish’s gorgeous, amazing glow. I paired this with NARS Kutki on my toes.

I’m taking a small break from neons by finishing up trying another small collection. I really loved Magazine Cover Mouse, so I was really looking forward to trying the other two polishes I got. First I’m wearing OPI A Definite Moust-Have (Couture de Minnie), a bright, coral-amaranth creme with subtle shimmer:

Picture taken in natural light. (I wish there had been sunlight to take this photo in, but when you enlarge it, you can kind of see the shimmer. It’s also a bolder shade in real life.) This applied very well, going on smoothly in two coats, plus some touchups to cover up dark spots. I wasn’t sure how to define this color, because it looks different in various lighting conditions. Indoors, this seems to have red-orange tones, making it look coral. Outdoors, however, it looks more straightforwardly pink; it reminds me of NARS Anardana. Whatever the color is, I love it! It looks gorgeous in the bottle, and even more so on the nail. The shimmer is very subtle, so at a quick glance it just looks like a creme. Although it’s not that obvious, this kind of secret shimmer does give a little extra something to the finish. I think OPI named this one pretty accurately. 😉 I paired this with NARS Koliary on my toes.

The gentlemen’s singles of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships ended on a very bitter note for me, so much so that I just want to forget about the result. Thankfully I’m ending my trying of this collection with a gorgeous polish. OPI Tiffany Case (Bond Girls) is a textured medium icy blue shimmer loaded with silver and aqua glitter and silver hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was a bit thicker than the others, because it seems to contain the most glitter, but it still applied well in two coats. Out of all the polishes in this collection, this one looks the most similar between its wet and dry states. It’s already really sparkly when wet, and even more so when it’s dry. The color lightens a bit, as the silver glitter rises to the surface, but it’s not a dramatic color shift. The finish also seems to have a metallic quality to it, but I think that’s just from the sheer amount of silver glitter, the blue base itself doesn’t seem metallic, though it’s not sheer and jelly-like, either. The gritty texture doesn’t come across as much as it does in the other polishes (I think I’m being blinded by the glitter), but it certainly feels rougher than all the others. The glitter definitely takes over this polish, but it’s beautiful! It’s predominantly silver, but there are these lovely glints of aqua that really stand out. The hex glitter is noticeable, but it’s small, so it doesn’t throw off the overall look. I know this is named for a Bond Girl, but I can’t help but think of Cinderella when I look at this. I paired it with Chanel Flamingo on my toes.

For the final days of this year’s Championships at Wimbledon, I’m back to trying the rest of this collection, starting with OPI Pussy Galore (The Bond Girls), a textured baby pink metallic shimmer sprinkled with fuchsia glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, needing two coats for full coverage. Since the base is metallic, this looks deceivingly frosty when it’s still wet, but once it’s dry, the gritty texture masks the brushstrokes. The icy nature of the metallic finish is still preserved, though. Disappointingly, the fuchsia glitter didn’t show up when I photographed this mani, but it’s visible when you look at it in the light (it doesn’t stand apart from the base as much as the silver glitter in Solitaire, though.) Despite that, I still love the look (and of course the feel) of this polish. The sparkle is delicate but intense, and the finish has that sugar-encrusted look to it (and since it’s baby pink it looks especially sweet and girly). “Pussy Galore” is one of the most famously recognized Bond girl names, and definitely one of the most risqué-sounding ones, so I’m glad OPI got to use the name for their collection. 🙂 I paired this with Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality on my toes.

This isn’t part of the Bond Girls collection, but I always choose a red for my 4th of July mani. Since I’m on a Liquid Sand tear, I thought it would be the perfect time to wear OPI Magazine Cover Mouse (Couture de Minnie), a textured red, gold, and pink glitter in a bright strawberry red base:

Picture taken in natural light. (Click to see in greater detail. I wish I had had sunlight to take this picture in, but what I like about Liquid Sands is that they still look great in natural light photos.) This applied well; I already got full coverage at one coat, but I did two for a greater color payoff. This has such a similar look to Jinx, but I like this even more because it’s a red! While it’s still wet, it looks like those beautiful red microglitters that seem come around every holiday season (especially for OPI), but when this is fully dry the glitter rises to the surface and the finish totally changes. Again, I’m amazed that even without topcoat, this finish is really sparkly and doesn’t look flat at all. This may be my favorite red glitter; of course I love the look and feel of it, but I also appreciate the low-maintenance factor (since it dries quickly and topcoat isn’t needed.) The combination of glitter works really well; the red and pink don’t clash at all, and they both look nice with the gold. I really love this shade of red, it has me craving strawberries and cream. 🙂 I paired this with Essie Smooth Sailing on my toes.

If there was ever a time to have a white mani during these Championships, it would be today, “the greatest day in tennis,” which saw all remaining men and women in the singles draws play to get into the quarterfinals. OPI Solitaire (The Bond Girls) is a textured white metallic shimmer sprinkled with silver glitter:

Picture taken in natural light. This applied well; I did two coats with touchups in between, since the first coat went on a bit uneven in appearance. Even though this is a metallic finish, it never looks brushstroke-y, since all the texture and glitter cover that up. It’s a really nice, clean shade of white that has a softness to it, so I think it’s more wearable than a really stark, white-out type of white. The silver glitter breaks up the white, making the finish look more interesting. As this was drying down, I noticed some turquoise and pink shimmer in there, creating a sort of mother of pearl effect, but I don’t really notice it once the polish is fully dried. Once again, I love feeling the texture of this when it’s totally dried and set; it’s like I have white sugar encrusted on my nails. 🙂 I paired this with Sally Hansen Celeb City (Xtreme Wear) on my toes.

At the midway point of this year’s Championships at Wimbledon, I’m at the halfway point in trying this collection with OPI Jinx (The Bond Girls), a textured orange and gold glitter in a fiery orange base:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, needing two coats for full coverage. Before it dried down, the formula looked and acted like a microglitter in a jellylike base, similar to China Glaze Riveting, with even more microglitter (and it would probably look similar to that if you were to add topcoat). But after this fully dries down, the gold glitter rises to the surface and the finish takes on that amazing glittery, textured look. It’s amazing that it’s so sparkly and not flat without topcoat, but I guess that’s just the magic of this Liquid Sand finish. Not only do I love the look of it, but I really love the gritty feel as well. This is mesmerizing to look at, particularly in direct light; it’s like being entranced by a flame! I paired this with Essie Braziliant on my toes.

The odd bird in this collection seemed most appropriate to try now, after the carnage of Day 3 at Wimbledon, dubbed “Black Wednesday.” OPI Vesper (The Bond Girls) is a textured polish consisting of black glitter in a vampy purple base:

Picture taken in weak sunlight. The base was a bit sheer (which I guess is a good thing, to let the glitter come through for a more textured feel), so I needed three coats for full coverage. The color is so strange; on the first coat the purple looks cool-toned, but by the third coat it looks like a wine/raisin purple (but when I hold my fingers right up against the light, I can still see the cool purple tone.) I do like the color, though, it’s deliciously vampy. I also love feeling the texture in this, but I wish the black glitter was more obvious. I think it got obscured because I had to do three coats. It still has a bit of a glisten, though, because of the sand-like particles. Though I wish this was as glitzy as the others in this collection (while still being vampy), I still love it because it suits its namesake perfectly. Vesper Lynd is my favorite Bond girl (and my favorite Bond girl name, too); Eva Green looked so gorgeous and mysteriosuly sexy in Casino Royale. I also tend to associate purple with Vesper because one of her most memorable outfits was a beautiful jewel-toned purple dress. 🙂 I paired this with Illamasqua Scorn on my toes.

When I bought this entire collection, I was eager to try them, because I really love the Liquid Sand finish, but I thought they’d be perfect to try during Wimbledon, since the James Bond franchise and The Championships are both quintessentially British. Over the tournament I’ll be wearing them all, starting with OPI Honey Ryder (The Bond Girls) is a textured light blonde gold metallic glitter:

Picture taken in weak sunlight. (The lack of strong sunlight doesn’t properly show off its sparkliness, but I was happy to get a photo that shows off the texture and doesn’t have glare, which I always have to deal with when photographing metallics). This applied well; as long as you work fast it won’t get cuticle draggy. If I was in a hurry I probably could’ve gotten away with one coat, but here I did two. It dries fast, but not instantly, so I’d wait about ten minutes to really let this set. I’m not often drawn to gold polishes, but this neutral shade is just the kind of gold I like the most. That, combined with this Liquid Sand finish that I absolutely love, makes this my favorite plain gold polish. The texture and glitter totally mask the brushstrokes that come along with a metallic finish. While painting I accidentally got a drop of polish on my knee, and when I wiped it away some of the grit was left behind, and it actually looked like real sand, which is particularly fitting, considering the inspiration for the name. The scene of white bikini-clad Ursula Andress coming out of the ocean and onto shore in Dr. No is one of the most iconic in Bond movie history! I paired this with OPI Vampsterdam on my toes.